Safety dress hanger



R. VOLTURA SAFETY DRESS HANGER Aug. 26, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1, 1957 INVENTOR ROSE VOLTURA BY gATTOP/VEY '--IIIIIIIIT Z:

R. VOLTURA SAFETY mass HANGER Aug. 26, 1958 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed April 1, 1957 INVENTOR.

ROSE VOLTUR'A' ATJURAZ'Y Patented fiiug. 26*, 195% fig SAFETY DRESS HANGER Rose Voltura, llironx, N. Y.

Application April 1, 1957, Serial No. 649,860

Qlaims. (Cl. 223-92) This invention relates to garment hangers and, more particularly, has reference to a garment hanger especially designed for supporting dresses, of the type in which loops are supplied within the shoulders of the garment for holding the shoulder straps of brassieres and slips in place.

Dresses tend, when supported from the conventional garment hanger, to slip out of proper position. As a result, it often happens that a dress will slip completely off a garment hanger and fall to the floor of the closet. Therefore, many persons follow the practice of bending a conventionally shaped wire garment hanger, so that it will be so shaped as to support the garment against slippage. However, this is, at best, a troublesome process, and even when a wire garment hanger is bent in this manner, the garment Will still tend, in many instances, to slip out of place. Further, when a wire hanger is so bent, it will often happen that the shoulders of the garment will not be properly engaged by the hanger arms.

In View of the above, it is proposed to provide a garment hanger which will have means on the arms thereof particularly adapted for engaging the loops provided on the insides of the shoulders of a dress. By so engaging the loops, the hanger prevents the dress from slipping out of place, so that the loops in question are given a dual function, that is, when the dress is worn the loops will engage the shoulder straps of brassieres and slips, and when the dress is not being worn, the loops will be engaged by the garment hanger to hold the dress against slippage from proper position. While many dresses are not provided with loops described, the use of such loops is nevertheless widespread, particularly in dresses of modern style, including sleeveless, scoop neck dresses.

A further object of importance is to provide a garment hanger as described which, despite having the benefits previously mentioned herein, will nevertheless be capable of manufacture at a cost little or no greater than that required for garment hangers not having the features of the invention.

Still another object is to provide a garment hanger which will, in at least one form of the invention, include means for shifting the loop-engaging fingers of the hanger arms outwardly from the main portions of the arms for the purpose of increasing the size of the space in which the loops are disposed, and for the further purpose of changing the angularity of the top surfaces of the hanger arms to accommodate different types of garments.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a garment hanger according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the garment hanger.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, detail sectional view substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, detail sectional view substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 1, a supported dress being illustrated fragmentarily and in dotted lines.

Fig. 5 is a reduced front elevational view of the hanger in use supporting a garment, the garment being illustrated fragmentarily.

Fig. 6 is a view like Pig. 1 showing a modified construction, the fingers of the device being illustrated in full and dotted lines in their normal and spread positions, respectively.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, detail sectional view on line 7-7 of Fig. 6, showing the finger-biasing element.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary front elevational view of the modified hanger in which the biasing element and the finger are illustrated in full and dotted lines in their normal and engaged positions, respectively.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view, still further enlarged, of the biasing element.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the arm of a second modification.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line lll1l of Fig. 10.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in Figs. 1-5 the hanger It constituting the present invention is formed of molded plastic or the like, although as will presently appear, it could be formed of other materials.

In any event, the hanger includes a relatively wide, rigidly constituted portion 12, having a vertical, through opening receiving the shank 14 of a suspension hook to which is swiveled in the center portion 123.

Integral with opposite sides of center portion 12 are downwardly diverging hanger arms 18, and integrally formed upon the respective arms are elongated fingers 20. Fingers 20 extend longitudinally of arms 18, along the top surfaces of the arms, and cooperate with the arms in defining relatively narrow longitudinal slots 22 which are closed at their outer ends, and which open at their inner ends adjacent the opposite sides of the wider center portion 12.

A garment to be supported has been generally designated at 24, and may comprise a scoop neck dress, such as shown in Fig. 5. Such a dress has a relatively narrow shoulder strap 26, and accordingly, a problem exists with respect to keeping the shoulder straps of brassieres and slips concealed beneath the shoulder straps of the dress, when the dress is worn. Accordingly, such a dress is generally provided with inside loops 28 in the shoulders 26 of the garment, which loops may be stitched at 3%) at one end of the loops, and at their other ends are provided with snap fasteners 32 for closing the loops. The loops may extend obliquely of the shoulder portions 26 of the garment, and are so arranged as to be readily engaged in the slots 22 as shown in Fig. 4, thus to hold the garment properly in place upon the garment hanger, without danger of slippage from the hanger to the floor.

It will be noted that the fingers 26, at their free ends, are rounded so as to cooperate with the hanger 18 in defining a tapering throat merging into the slots 22. This facilitates entry of the loops, without danger of tearing the garment.

it will further be notedthat the shoulders of the garment are supported entirely upon the fingers as shown in Fig. 5, with the fingers being so curved as to provide a proper support for the shoulders, without the possibility of wrinkling or other deformation of the garment out of its proper shape.

In Fig. 6 a slight modification of the invention is shown.

In this form of the invention, the hanger is identical in all respects to that shown in Fig. 1 except for having o a pair of finger-biasing elements 34 slidably mounted upon the respective hanger arms 18. The fingers 20 are slightly resilient, being movable between the full and dotted line positions shown in Figs. 6 and 8 with the fingers being tensioned to normally remain in closely spaced relation to the hanger arms, in the full line positions of the fingers.

The elements 34 may also be of molded plastic, and as shown in Fig. 7, are of inverted U shape so as to straddle or embrace the top edge portions of the hanger arms 18. Normally, elements 34 are disposed in their full line positions of Fig. 6, inwardly from the fingers 20. The legs of the elements are spring-tensioned to frictionally grip the side surfaces of the hanger arms so that the elements will remain in their normal positions.

Elements 34 have bight portions which are upwardly convexed or domed, defining rounded cam surfaces on the elements 34. As a result, when the elements 34 are shifted outwardly along the arms 18, the bight portions of the elements will enter the slots 22 as shown in Fig. 8. The cam surfaces of the elements will then engage the undersides of the fingers 20, biasing the fingers resiliently in an upward direction as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 6 and 8. This widens the slots 22, to facilitate the entrance of loops which may be of a relatively heavy material. In addition, not only is the entrance of the loops facilitated, but also the relative angularity of the fingers 20 is changed so that the fingers are at a less shallow obtuse angle to one another. This adjusts the hanger for different angularities of the shoulder portions of supported garments, according to the desires of the particular user.

In Figs. 10 and 11 another modification is shown in which the elements 34*, having the cam surfaces 36 are slidably mounted upon hanger arms 18 formed with fingers 20 defining slots 22*. In this form of the invention, the legs of the elements 34 are formed with inwardly turned lips slidably engaging in guide slots 38 formed in the opposite side surfaces of the hanger arms in parallel relation to the slots 22 The lips are designated at 40, and as will be readily appreciated, the elements can be slidably adjusted along the lengths of the slots 38, between finger-biasing and retracted positions, respectively.

In all forms of the invention, the construction is characterized by the relatively inexpensive design, and by the adaptability for use of the garment hanger either for engaging the loops of dresses of the type described, or alternatively, for the purpose of supporting dresses or any other garments not provided with such loops, in the regular manner. The hanger thus is not restricted to the support of dresses having the shoulder loops.

Further, the hanger is so designed, in the forms of the invention shown in Figs. 6-11, as to permit the angularity of the fingers to each other to be adjusted, responsive to the shifting of cam elements within the loopreceiving slots formed between the fingers and the hanger arms.

The hanger, as previously noted, need not necessarily be formed of molded plastic. Instead, it could be formed of wire material, wood, or from a combination of any desired suitable materials having the characteristics previously brought out herein.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A garment hanger comprising a suspension book, a rigid body carried by the hook and including a center portion and garment support arms diverging downwardly from the center portion, and elongated fingers extending longitudinally of the support arms and fixedly connected at one end to the arms, defining slots between the fingers and arms adapted to receive loops provided on the surfaces of the shoulder portions of a supported garment, the slots having closed ends terminating inwardly from the outer ends of the arms, the slots having open ends terminating outwardly a short distance from opposite sides of the center portion, said arms and fingers being extended in substantially parallel relation with the fingers overlying the top surfaces of the arms, said fingers being of a resilient material and being tensioned to normally extend in closely spaced relation to the arms, said hanger further including means adjustably mounted on the arms for movement into and out of the slots and having a cam surface engageable with the fingers to bias the fingers outwardly from the arms, thereby to increase the transverse dimensions of the slots and change the angularity of the fingers to each other.

2. A garment hanger comprising a suspension book, a rigid body carried by the hook and including a center portion and garment support arms diverging downwardly from the center portion, and elongated fingers extending longitudinally of the support arms and fixedly connected at one end to the arms, defining slots between the fingers and arms adapted to receive loops provided on the surfaces of the shoulder portions of a supported garment, the slots having closed ends terminating inwardly from the outer ends of the arms, the slots having open ends terminating outwardly a short distance from opposite sides of the center portion, said arms and fingers being extended in substantially parallel relation with the fingers overlying the top surfaces of the arms, said fingers being of a resilient material and being tensioned to normally extend in closely. spaced relation to the arms, said hanger further including means adjustably mounted on the arms for movement into and out of the slots and having a cam surface engageable with the fingers to bias the fingers outwardly from the arms, thereby to increase the transverse dimensions of the slots and change the angularity of the fingers to each other, said means comprising cam elements slidably mounted upon the respective arms.

3. A garment hanger comprising a suspension hook, a rigid body carried by the hook and including a center portion and garment support arms diverging downwardly from the center portion, and elongated fingers extending longitudinally of the support arms and fixedly connected at one end to the arms, defining slots between the fingers and arms adapted to receive loops provided on the surfaces of the shoulder portions of a supported garment, the slots having closed ends terminating inwardly from the outer ends of the arms, the slots having open ends terminating outwardly a short distance from opposite sides of the center portion, said arms and fingers being extended. in substantially parallel relation with the fingers overlying the top surfaces of the arms, said fingers being of a resilient material and being tensioned to normally extend in closely spaced relation to the arms, said hanger further including means adjustably mounted on the arms for movement into and out of the slots and having a cam surface engageable with the fingers to bias the fingers outwardly from the arms, thereby to increase the transverse dimensions of the slots and change the angularity of the fingers to each other, said means comprising cam elements slidably mounted upon the respective arms, said cam elements being disposed in positions straddling the arms.

4. A garment hanger comprising a suspension hook, a rigid body carried by the hook and including a center portion and garment support arms diverging downwardly from the center portion, and elongated fingers extending longitudinally of the support arms and fixedly connected at one end to the arms, defining slots between the fingers and arms adapted to receive loops provided on the surfaces of the shoulder portions of a supported garment, the slots having closed ends terminating inwardly from the outer ends of the arms, the slots having open ends terminating outwardly a short distance from opposite sides of the center portion, said arms and fingers being extended in substantially parallel relation with the fingers overlying the top surfaces of the arms, said fingers being of a resilient material and being tensioned to normally extend in closely spaced relation to the arms, said hanger further including means adjustably mounted on the arms for movement into and out of the slots and having a cam surface engageable with the fingers to bias the fingers outwardly from the arms, thereby to increase the transverse dimensions of the slots and change the angularity of the fingers to each other, said means comprising cam elements slidably mounted upon the respective arms, said cam elements being disposed in positions straddling the arms, the cam elements including domed bight portions providing the cam surfaces of the elements.

5. A garment hanger comprising a suspension hook, a rigid body carried by the hook and including a center portion and garment support arms diverging downwardly from the center portion, and elongated fingers extending longitudinally of the support arms and fixedly connected at one end to the arms, defining slots between the fingers and arms adapted to receive loops provided on the surfaces of the shoulder portions of a supported garment, the slots having closed ends terminating inwardly from the outer ends of the arms, the slots having open ends terminating outwardly a short distance from opposite sides of the center portion, said arms and fingers being extended in substantially parallel relation with the fingers overlying the top surfaces of the arms, said fingers being of a resilient material and being tensioned to normally extend in closely spaced relation to the arms, said hanger further including means adjustably mounted on the arms for movement into and out of the slots and having a cam surface engageable with the fingers to bias the fingers outwardly from the arms, thereby to increase the transverse dimensions of the slots and change the angularity of the fingers to each other, said means comprising cam elements slidably mounted upon the respective arms, said cam elements being disposed in positions straddling the arms, the cam elements including domed bight portions providing the cam surfaces of the elements, said cam elements including legs extending from the bight portions and formed with inwardly turned lips, the respective hanger arms having longitudinal guide slots in their opposite surfaces in which said lips are slidably engaged, for adjustment of the cam elements toward and away from their finger-biasing positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,758,807 Serposs May 13, 1930 1,828,611 Mikota Oct. 20, 1931 2,222,231 Marble Nov. 19, 1940 2,370,391 Bolten et al. Feb. 27, 1945 2,667,293 Jacob Jan. 26, 1954 

